VOGUE...Maternity Style

Well, Saturday was London's first photo shoot...one of many I am sure...and although she isn't actually physically here I know she was saying "cheese" from within. Back in November, Paul and I bid on and won a photo session with a Sacramento photographer by the name of Eleakis & Elder. At that time I wasn't pregnant but knew right away that I would be saving that session for maternity photos. I have always loved maternity pictures of women with their big bellies totally bare and exposed. There is something so beautiful and so warm about them. I could hardly wait to get big enough (and let me just say I certainly foot the bill now) to have these precious pics taken.

So over the past week there was extensive preparation for the big photo op. There was wardrobe planning, a trial run on hair and makeup, a sunless spray tan (for Paul and I both)and the selection of props for the shoot. And might I just add- don't laugh...everyone looks better with a little "sun" on their skin, even if it is fake and even if you are a man...and if you are a woman- the "sun" hides cellulite like you won't believe. Finally, everything came together and we met the photographers Saturday morning to head over to William Land Park for the first leg of the journey. We took some really fun and really uncomfortable pictures. For example, they started by having me lie on my back on a concrete bench. Super cozy! Paul and I had some good laughs and most of the pictures were taken surrounding a giant duck pond that had its share of feathered friends who took part in the shoot from time to time. They took some great pictures of us interacting, rubbing our bellies together, and laying in the grass. Then we headed over to Fairy Tale Town for a couple pics of just myself with a darling book I brought along. It was one of my favorite books when I was little and it is a petite version of Jemima Puddle Duck, member of the Beatrix Potter series for those who don't know. We got some great shots of me reading it to my belly while perched up against a tree with Fairy Tale Town and Humpty Dumpty in the background. That turned out to be one of my favorite shots. It will certainly end up in London's room.

Afterward, we headed back to the studio for the nude photos, nude belly photos that is. I wore black leggings and a black and white scarf tied bandeau style around my chest...my belly of course was bare. We did some really fun pictures with a pink bow tied around my belly like a present and we did some other ones with a bird nest that came from London's room and a few of the classic maternity photos with Paul's arms around my belly and hands formed into a heart. Very sweet. Afterwards, they let us view the pictures right away and narrow down the ones that we liked. We are both so opinionated that it was quite easy to purge. Now we just need to settle on the few that we really love. All in all it was a fun morning and I know we will treasure these pictures forever. I know they are some of the final shots we will take as a family of two but I also know they will soon be much more exciting as a family of three.